Dear friends and family,
Our Florida house survived the hurricane nicely. Kevin's mom and stepdad evacuated in their travel trailer. Their house was okay too. Kevin's dad and stepmom are traveling around the country in a motor home, so they were out of danger.
Because of wars and earthquakes, much of the sightseeing in Israel consists of ruins from ancient civilizations. I have listed some of the people groups who have been in Israel since the beginning of recorded history.
1950 BC Abraham (Jews) arrived in Canaan (modern-day Israel) 1250 BC Joshua led the Jews back into the Promised Land after escape from slavery in Egypt
587 BC Babylonians
539 BC Jews return to Palestine
332 BC Alexander the Great (Greek/Macedonian)
167 BC Maccabean revolt (Jews)
64 BC Pompey (Rome)
395- 638 AD Byzantine rule (Constantine etc. - Christianity becomes the official religion)
614 BC Persian
638-1099 Arab/Moslems (Mohammed - Jerusalem becomes 3rd most sacred city to Moslems)
1099-1291 Crusaders (Europeans)
1250-1516 Moslem Mamelukes
1516 Ottoman Turks
1917 Palestine taken by Allies in WWI
1922 British mandate
1948 Israel proclaimed a State
Or to quote Andrea Bocelli (the blind Italian tenor) and Sarah Brightman from my favorite song, "Time to Say Goodbye":
"I'll go with you to countries I never saw and shared with you,
now yes, I shall experience them.
I'll go with you on ships across seas
which, I know, no, no, exist no longer;
with you I shall experience them."
This became my favorite song about 2 1/2 years before our move to Israel, truly a land of countries which exist no longer. I hope the words to this song become reality as you read our newsletters.
If you are wondering why so many people invaded Israel, it is on the main route between Egypt and Mesopotamia. The road runs north from Egypt through our area, Herzlia, and veers inland (east) a few miles north of us.
That means that when the Holy Family left Egypt and moved back to Nazareth, they probably passed through Herzlia!
A word about earthquakes: Israel experiences a major earthquake about every 100 years, and we are due now! One thing I noticed about many Ankara houses was how tall and skinny they were. Even restaurants and commercial buildings had very narrow circular staircases. They looked like they would topple over, even without an earthquake. I was told that they are built this way because land is so expensive in Turkey.
Here in Israel, the Arab villages contain many houses built on stilts into the hillsides. Some of these cities were under Jordanian control until the 1967 war, when Israel took them over. I have been told that these areas were impoverished under Jordan, but you sure couldn't tell now. Many of the Arab villas are gorgeous and enormous! The extended families all live under one roof. The bottom levels are actually unfinished, so that the kids can get married and build there. Thus the stilts. I wonder what will happen when the next earthquake hits.
Some villages are 100% Arab. Other cities, like Nazareth, are mixed Jewish and Arab. Some Arabs are Christian (usually Greek Orthodox) and there are even some Arab Jews (one works on our office). There are still many Bedouins all over the country who live in tents and take care of their herds.
One of my contractor people is trying to improve his English. He also helps me with my Hebrew. He told me his wife was going to be born (have a baby) and that afterward she would have get help running her garden children (kindergarten school). He also informed me that some of the Government equipment was delicious (delicate)!
It is cooling off just a tad, and actually rained a little this month. We are now entering the rainy season, which in Israel means it might possibly rain. The Sea of Galilee (also known as the Sea of Tiberias or Lake Kinnaret), which supplies much of Israel's drinking water, is at the lowest point in recorded history. No more water can be pulled from it, or there will be salt water intrusion as has occurred in Tel Aviv already. Now we are getting water from aquifers. For some reason, Israeli farmers have started to grow high-grade cotton, which really sucks the water out of the soil. Also, wood is very expensive because there aren't many trees. However, Israel doesn't have a recycling program (at least not in our area). Jews from all over the world have sent money to plant trees in Israel, but they don't use those for wood.
Our household goods finally arrived on September 16. It took over 90 days and is supposed to take only 30-45 days. It was very complicated because our inventory list was inaccurate. Plus, some of the boxes had two movers tags, while others had none. It got pretty boring wearing the same clothes for over 90 days. My British assistant says he likes my new "frocks" - meaning dresses, not monks' habits!
For the first time since our move, we got together with someone from Florida! A preacher/author/radio teacher came to Israel leading a 68-person tour group from the US, Australia, and New Zealand. We visited at her hotel in Jerusalem. It worked out nicely because their flights back to the States were delayed by Hurricane Floyd! >
It's very difficult (red tape) to get a job on the Israeli economy, especially if you don't speak and read Hebrew. There are openings at the Embassy, but they have a different work week (Mon.-Fri.) than the Defense Dept. (Sun - Th). Even some of the Embassy jobs are reserved for Hebrew-speakers. >
Here, New Year's lasts two days, but it isn't such a big bash as in the US. There is no newspaper delivered on Jewish holidays. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is a day on which religious Jews fast, even from water, and walk to the synagogue to pray. No one except military and emergency vehicles are allowed on the road for 24 hours. Children can ride bikes and skateboards in the streets. It gets amazingly quiet! >
Recently, a co-worker had a birthday. Someone brought in a cake, but my boss wouldn't eat his piece because it wasn't baked in a kosher home! Restaurant workers have been fired because they cooked "meat" in the "dairy" oven when the "meat" oven was broken; or because they used an elevator (a mechanical device) on the Sabbath instead of using the stairs. There are ways to "get around" the religious restrictions. For example, the Nazareth Marriott plans to go un-kosher for next New Year's Eve. They will transfer title for one day to an Arab. After New Year's, he will transfer title back to the Jewish owners! >
We are well taken care of in the office. The office pays for subscriptions to several popular magazines, such as Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, People, etc. They also have free videos, CDs, and books we can check out. We can watch CNN on a TV in the conference room. They subscribe to two English-language newspapers for us as well. The front-page news here is quite different from the States. There was a big flap by the religious political parties because the new Government transported a large turbine via road on the Sabbath, when there is less traffic. Sometimes there are ads paid for by bereaved family members, appealing to the new Prime Minister not to release terrorists from prisons. There was a big picture on the front page showing the Prime Minister holding his new godson while a rabbi performed the circumcision ritual. This is the kind of picture you hope the parents don't trot out to show the poor kid's prom date! (Even though circumcision is now practiced by other nationalities for health reasons, it's still a pretty big deal over here. According to the Bible, God established a covenant of circumcision with Abraham that set the Jews apart from the other people groups of that time. If you wanted to become a Jew, you had to get circumcised!) >
The Israeli flag is white with a blue Star (or Shield) of David. The star was originally a fertility symbol common throughout the Middle East, which became associated exclusively with the Jews when Hitler forced them to wear it. Although the menorah (lampstand) is actually the symbol of the Jewish people, Israel chose the "star" for their flag when they became a nation in 1948. This is an example of the Jewish term "chutzpah" (hoots-pah). >
Kevin and I took another Embassy-sponsored bus trip, this time to Nazareth (when Jesus grew up there it was considered one of those "armpit" places), and to the Sea of Galilee region (where Jesus conducted a good deal of His ministry). The tour guide used by the Embassy is a secular Jew who believes Jesus was a prophet, but not the Messiah. He presents Christian Israel from an Israeli perspective. As is the case with Jerusalem, no one is sure of the exact locations of specific events, and often churches have been built on the most likely sites. However, there are ancient synagagues that are being excavated, and some of the surrounding areas look about the same as they would have in Bible times. Nazareth is a big construction zone, as it is getting a facelift for the Year 2000 pilgrims. We took a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee, and saw a 1900-year-old boat (the "Jesus boat") that is being restored. >
Kevin and I also drove up the coast to climb around the oceanside ruins of Caesarea (called Ka-SAR-e-a here), which was the chief city of the region after Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. This is another city that changed hands several times, depending on who defeated whom. It is now a resort, and has been an active archeological dig for years. King Herod the Great built a palace, a huge stadium for chariot races, and a 10,000-person amphitheater that has been restored for use today. You can also see a Roman aqueduct, mosaics, columns, capitals, and statues. You can walk along the seashore and pick up beautiful pieces of marble. Caesarea is also mentioned numerous times in the New Testament Book of Acts. It is the place where the Gospel was first preached to Gentiles (non-Jews). Also, Caesarea is where the Apostle Paul was detained for over two years and brought before Governors Felix and Festus, and King Agrippa. >
It is very difficult to conduct business with Israeli defense contractors during September because of all the Jewish holidays. Many people schedule vacations, and some of the plants close down for a week. One of the Israeli engineers at my office takes a week off during the Feast of Tabernacles, and his whole family live in a big "succot" (booth) that they build in their back yard. Some people even arrange for electricity so they can watch TV in their succots! >
Well, that's certainly enough for this time. One of my friends told me to use bigger print, so - you got it! Haag Sumayah (happy holidays) to all! >
Kevin and 'liz